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English: Rick Pitino during a game against West Virginia in the Big East tournament, 2007. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1. The Michigan Punch from the Bench. Michael “Spike” Albrecht. A barely recruited youngster who averaged less than two points a game put on Superman’s cape and rained 3 pointers from Midtown Atlanta with perfection (4 for 4). Realizing he was now Superhooper, Spike then became Curly Neal of Harlem Globetrotter fame and dribbled through one of the best guard combinations in the country to make layups. By the end of the first half Spike had 17 points, more than most All Americans make in an entire game.

2. The Louisville Comeback Punch from the Bench. What NCAA championship game makes eye-popping stars out of two people not good enough to start? I suspect never in NCAA championship history has there been the 1-point a game backup be a star (Spike), only to be bested by another reserve (Hancock) who hit four 3-point shots in the same half. And to appeal to the American appetite for instant everything, the Hancock all exploded in less than 2 minutes. When the smoke cleared, Hancock took a team with a 12-point deficit on a 14-3 run that left them only down by 1 at the half. Academy award winning movies do the same thing – take the viewer on a wild emotional roller coaster with attendant mood swings.

3. The end of the game so the referees were no longer able to make ill-advised calls. The worst was the 2nd phantom foul against the consensus player of the year, Trey Burke. The fans came to see the best players on the biggest stage. They did not come to watch referees neuter the All-Americans. The sin most prevalent and hardest to avoid for a referee is anticipating a foul that he saw in his mind before he saw it with his eyes. When a defensive player jumps out at a 3-point shooter and the shot goes uncharacteristically off-kilter, your mind sees a foul before your eyes saw untoward touching. So when Burke jumped out on Hancock, and the sharp-shooter’s shot did not make the rim, it was all the confirmation the referee needed. As a result, the best player on the floor, the Naismith Trophy winner, the consensus best player in the country was sidelined for the majority of the first half. That robbed not only Burke of playing time, but millions on TV and a lost return on investment for on-site fans that sacrificed time and money to watch him. That was just one of many questionable calls. Every 1 minute of play brought another referee controversy. At first the announcers game them the benefit of the doubt. After repeat performances into the second half, announcers just told the truth. They said , “how is that possible” and “not sure what they were looking at there” when Hancock undercut Michigan’s Morgan and it would have been Hancock’s fourth foul.

4. That Wisconsin or some other pass-to-keep-from-playing team did not pollute this game. This fast pace of this game was what makes the game special, entertaining, awe-inspiring and awesome. Let the superior athletes show their stuff. Let them engage the enemy and see who wins based on the engagement, not the avoidance. If you pay extra to see a movie in 3D and HD and I-Max, you want all that technology to be in full bloom as you watch. Basketball’s prime assets are not technology. It’s the athletic prowess that dazzles the fans and makes the money. Fans don’t come to watch why guys stand and pass, and pass and stand. This was a show, and one of the best in memory.

5. The best team won.

6. Senior rewards. Louisville’s Siva was a senior. Hancock was a senior. They had the games of their careers. And if they never make a pro dollar, they both have a memory of a lifetime. Michigan was the youngest team of all 68 tournament teams. They have future opportunities.

7. The NCAA did not allege any infractions – yet.

8. Young men seen in a favorable light. I leaped out of bed at 6 this morning, not because of work I couldn’t wait to reach, but to see that no reports of bad or illegal behavior from the players. Truly no news was good news. The human interest stories of perseverance and love about players and their families renews faith – faith in the notion that even very talented people can be ordinary in plain spoken goodness.

9. Kevin Ware broke a leg and a smile in the end.

10. Accolades and labels were right. On game day, Louisville Rick Pitino was labeled a Hall of Fame coach early and he coached like one. And Pitino did it without using the Rutgers-Rice playbook of verbally or physically abusing his players. Louisville was labeled the number one overall seed and won the championship confirming that label as the best team going into the tournament. Michigan’s coach was labeled as a very good coach and was confirmed as such. There’s a reason why March Madness live had a 156% increase in usage this year. The label of NCAA March Madness as one of the best sporting events is also on point.